The Assassination of Awai Fanho by the Coward Awai Fanho

[Hayate]

phpBB [video] The scene opens upon a dimly lit room, a grown man, sleeping on his stomach with his butt in the air. His blanket covers most of his body except his butt- a butt radiator and cooling technique employed by the man since he was but a wee little lad. Suddenly a piercing, agonizing cry rings out into the room.

Bee-beep. Bee-boop. Bee-beep. Bee-boop. Bee-be

The man's hand instinctively swatted from under the blanket at the alarm, crushing it with one mighty blow and denting the table beneath. The camera pans out, revealing a trash bin filled with broken alarm clocks. He rolls over. A few moments later, the man wakes up and looks at the camera.

"So you're probably wondering who this handsomely good looking man is. A true adonis. Unparalleled really..." he says as he wipes the sleep out of his eyes.

"I'm Sarutobi fucking Taiga. The Legendary Bannin and Jinchuuriki of Konohagakure... and the Shadow fucking Hokage."

Within the blink of an eye he's out of bed and walking towards his wall, clothes hanging up on a hanger from the day before. His naked butt cheeks wiggle with joys as he suddenly steps through the clothes and the wall, coming out the other side onto a roof-top outside his window, fully clothed.

"The secret is though I put my pants on just like every other guy- by phasing into that shit" he says, as he leaps off the roof, making a heroic landing on the ground below crouched down with his fist planted to the ground. "Fuckin' alrighty I nailed it." he says to himself as he pumps his fist.

Today was a special day for him. He was summoned to speak with Fanho, the council, and several key advisors in the village. To report on his recon on Sunagakure since it fell to Iwagakure, and his operations with Root. Today was the day he was going to get that bonus to by the kids the pool!

With a brisk walk, he arrived at the door of the Hokage's office, only to find the place crawling with ANBU and the council seemingly in distress.

"Director I swear if you fuck up my big day...." he muttered under his breath as he entered the room...

[Director]

As Taiga walked into the Hokage's chambers he'd find ANBU scrawling the place checking for all sorts of evidence and committing a full blown investigation. Yet the place was seemingly unaffected, no out of place furniture, no mess, only simply a single blood stain tracked across the desk with a few finger prints tracked on the wall that seemingly had no print pattern to them at all. It was suspicious and quite the conundrum. Who had sacked the office with little dismay and whose blood laid tracked on the desk.

The ANBU tracking at least compared samples. It was not that of Fanho or anyone else in Konoha. It was from a mystery assailant and yet this scuffle resulted in the disappearance of the Hokage with only this trace and signature-less fingerprints left. Even Yoru was present as a consultant for his skills with Space/Time but to no avail. They all drew blanks on what happened and where Fanho went.

However, it was clear it was not willingly.

[Texas]

Tenzin, Yoru, and Nobu stood there with their arms folded as two other anbu operatives were quietly talking and explaining the situation. What a frustrating situation. The weak Bannin gazed upon the area and turned over to Yoru. Yoru confirmed his suspicions with the other anbu operatives before gazing upon Tenzin with his good eye. "The signature doesn't confirm the full course of the events. All we can gather is that he was taken. Based on the slight look of a struggle and the sheer power that Fanho had... there is no way it was done by force or by weakening him." Yoru would look around the room before continuing. "There are faint traces of space/time and even Tenku chakra in the area. Whatever happened, was quick, out of nowhere, and ultimately utilizing some kind of spirit realm or separate spacetime realm. However, we can investigate the results in the lab and try to come to a better conclusion."

Tenzin placed his right hand up and put it to his chin, keep his left arm still in the folded state. What a failure he felt like. Two Kage's under his watch have either disappeared or died. The man's turquoise eyes held in almost all emotions as he gazed upon the room. He would turn to Nobu, "Lets get started then, Nobu go to the lab and begin preparations. Yoru and I will return after we have fully vetted out this situation here." Nobu would briskly walk past Taiga. As Tenzin watched Nobu walk, he would see the nod Nobu would give Taiga as he continued on.

Yoru would weave some hand signs and start focusing chakra on the area. Tenzin would turn his full attention to Taiga. Since their last conversation, Taiga didn't really impress Tenzin. He beat up a younger jinch within the village and didn't even go to Kiri. Regardless, Tenzin gazed upon the legend himself and nodded. "Welcome Taiga" he said as he turned back around to watch Yoru do his work. Tenzin was also waiting for Takeshi, since he was next in command, he wanted to make sure he was informed on all things happening. Although at the current time of hearing the information, Tenzin was in a meeting with Yoru and Nobu. So it would be natural he would be a little bit late.

[Izanagi]

These were truly dark times for Konoha and their alliances. His father hadn’t even been buried a year before Sunagakure had fallen to Iwagakure’s might. And now, mere months after their oldest allies had fallen, their newly appointed Hokage, the strongest in generations, had mysteriously gone missing. Takeshi couldn’t believe it when he had received the coded message. A flash of Anger was his immediate response, he had heard about how Tousha had absconded his duties after the Konoha invasion, leaving the village leaderless for a year when they needed stability the most. It seemed all too convenient that Fanho who had been away throughout the duration of the Great War, now suddenly vanished shortly after his ploy didn’t work the way he anticipated.

As strong as Awai Fanho was, the man was an optimistic and a politician. He didn’t seem to have the stomach for war or the grit to do what was truly needed to be done. Clenching his fists as finished adorning his gear, the 18-year-old captain Tengu dashed through the underground passageways that led to the Hokage building. ‘He did bring Noeru back at least’ he reminded himself, though reading the reports it seemed Taiga was the one who ultimately took the necessary action and killed the pair of terrorist mercenaries. Takeshi still resented that he hadn’t been asked to join the retrieval mission of his closest friend. That bond had been fractured and the man that returned was damaged and unfit for duty, freezing up in his first spar back with Taiga. Noeru had taken a leave of duty and isolated himself from his peers, he might as well have been dead for all that it mattered in the end.

Entering the building into the secret room adjacent to the Hokage’s office, the young captain immediately activated his Byakugan. He recognized the others and shared a brief nod with Yoru through the walls as they acknowledged one another’s presence. ‘He betrayed the village once, and he’s one of the only shinobi of Konoha capable of bringing down Fanho’ he considered, suspecting his ‘Uncle’ who was in fact legally his brother-in-law after marrying his adopted sister Hyuuga Hanako. But Takeshi had never trusted the Byakguan thief, and in fact, even his father had asked Takeshi to keep a close eye on Yoru and his activities within Anbu, indicating that their relationship and trust had never fully been repaired.

Tengu assessed the Anbu room, searching for traces of chakra. There were the usual Fuuinjutsu seals, one’s used to block sound from exciting the Hokage’s office as well as being able to form a protective barrier around the room. But it seemed neither had been activated recently, indicating there was no clear threat nor any recent clandestine meetings. Checking the logs that Anbu kept on the Hokage’s visitors reinforced this. It all seemed rather mundane. Of course, if it was an inside job it would have been easy to cover one’s tracks and falsify records. The man heard Yoru’s explanation, traces of Tenku and Space/time chakra within the office itself. Focusing his Byakugan further, Takeshi verified that the man spoke the truth and assessed the chakra signature against Yoru’s. It wasn’t a match, perhaps he was in the clear after all. Moreover, Yoru’s chakra didn’t seem to indicate he was lying, but there was no doubt that the Bannin who taught Takeshi most of what he knew, would be able to mask his intentions and chakra signature.

Still, it was all a mere hunch and without any evidence he couldn’t bring it to Tenzin’s attention. Not with his own personal bias clouding his judgment. Exhaling slowly, Tengu, adorning his red-faced bird mask emerged from the false back wall of the closet that connected the rooms. “I’m not seeing anything suspicious in the visitation records, who was on duty at the time?” he inquired, directing his question to the two junior operatives present. With three Bannin in the room his own input was hardly necessary, but he was still a captain in Anbu despite his age, outranking all but the present Bannin within the organization.

[Hayate]

Taiga had been pouting internally at the doorway as others pushed past him and ANBU scurried in and about, the top commanders all strewn about the room in deep discussion about what had just occurred. Taiga couldn't help but feel extremely vexed at the situation. This was supposed to be his big day- and here Fanho had to go and ruin it by getting himself kidnapped. Unreal, really. He cleared his throat as the Aizawa brothers, Tenzin, and Takeshi did their digging and pretended to prance around the room looking for clues like everyone else.

A far cry from every other man in the room, Taiga wasn't thinking about who could have betrayed who or what enemy of the state had barged into this room and kidnapped Fanho- no, he had it all figured out already. With his lateral thinking he was entirely sure that Fanho had kidnapped Fanho.

He didn't know how, nor did he have proof, but only Fanho had the level of space-time-mastery required to have pulled off what had happened here. And though the authorities of saigen had divinely ruled against Taiga's theory of alternate universes and variants, he was still ever so sure that variants had to have existed.

With a deep breath, and a shit eating grin, he finally spoke to the room.

"The only person who could have kidnapped Fanho would have to be another Fanho..." he said as he dramatically put his hand to his face. "I know that sounds ridiculous, and to be honest it's probably that new Mizukage or Iwagakure behind this, but think about it..." he paused, looking to the far end of the room towards an imaginary camera that didn't exist.

"The only person with this level of space-time mastery and knowledge of Konohagakure, and even Fanho himself, would be Fanho." Taiga said with an all-too-serious look. He shook his head, sure that no one would pay credence to his theory.

"In all seriousness, it's great we're trying to finding out what happened... but that is going to take some time. In the meantime, our village is in a very precarious situation..." he paused. "We need to make sure word of this does not leave our walls, and the absence of our Kage is not known... lest we invite the hordes of Kirigakure and Iwagakure scum to our lands..." Taiga said with a burnin in his eyes.

He looked at Tenzin. And to Takeshi- nodding to Takeshi's question of who was on duty. He'd let the boy take care of following that lead.

"How quick can we mobilize intelligence, and how quick can we see if anyone out in the field has heard anything? We can use the first known date of dicussion in each hostile territory as an indicator to who may be involved in this plot."

The evidence before them was great- but Taiga was certain that a wider sift through the information networks of the world would be just as useful, if not more.

[Texas]

The Kage office all of a sudden felt cluttered. Several Anbu Operatives, Tenzin, Yoru, Taiga, and now Takeshi. The three T's of Konoha stood with their own separate demeanor. Tenzin, Yoru, and Takeshi all had slightly similar behaviors, maybe it was due to their high roles in Anbu. However, Takeshi always gave off a slightly unhinged nature, as if he was ready to either pulverize you or dismiss. Maybe it was all in Tenzin's head, but he was very fond of Takeshi, even though the young man knew the feeling was not mutual.

The shinobi looked around at a couple of the Anbu operatives that were close to the estimated site of action. He would lean over to Yoru, "Take those two with you. You should have enough intel and data to start performing diagnostics." I'm sure by the time you get there everything will be set up." Yoru gave a slight smile, it was weird for him to follow orders like this, but since he has taken a back seat, he didn't mind stepping in when needed. Yoru walked up to two of the agents and took them through the hidden passage, heading towards the Anbu Hideout. The laboratory that Tenzin had... altered, would be state of the art and allow them to come up with any final solutions.

Upon 3 of the 6 Anbu agents leaving, Tenzin turned to gauge the situation in the room. Takeshi made a point to find out who was on duty. A good tactic to figure out. Although based on the site, situation, and a high sense of urgency... it didn't feel like anyone saw anything. It wasn't until Taiga began to speak up. Tenzin would rub his chin under his mask and speak up after Taiga went on his explanation. "Theoretically it is plausible. Although to discredit the other space/time masters in other villages is not a course I wish to ignore. Especially how within the course of a siege, we both lost an ally and gained an enemy. We have three potential villages that we know of, not including neutral parties, and not including potential allies that might want to submit to a larger side."

Tenzin would meet Taiga's gaze and continue. "However, you do make a point and we will add that to the list of possibilities." Once the room was a little bit more cleared, Tenzin looked around particularly at the three other Anbu agents. "Okami, Iguru, Hebi, you three secure the perimeter. We need to talk without any wandering eyes or ears. We are going to have a chat that no one but us three should hear." All three said, yes sir before they dispersed quickly outside of the room taking different posts and utilizing different array of jutsu to ensure security. "I am glad you are here Tengu." he noted to the young man before he folded his arms.

"Do we have any more theories to look into?"

[Drak]

One investigator had yet to arrive at the scene of the crime. In fact, nothing in his day suggested that a crime had been committed, or that he would need to investigate it. Akito’s morning thus far had been much like any other. On his way to the University, he stopped at Inokara’s cafe for a light breakfast. Upon arriving, he greeted his assistant, Kagura and stepped into his office. On the table was a huge scroll which detailed many of the theoretical properties of Kuuton. Background reading for something he had been working on. As he settled in for another day of research, he heard some commotion from outside.

“Wha- who are? Oh! Oh, yes right through here.”

His door slid open, revealing a figure wearing a black, form-fitting shirt, a gray flak jacket, and a blue-and-white mask in the shape of an ox.

“Hyuuga Akito?” the figure asked. “Come with me. We have a situation.”

Akito rose from his desk. He had had dealings in the past with ANBU, but this was the first time that an agent had shown up in person like this.

“Very well,” Akito said, walking towards the agent. “Cancel all of my appointments,” he ordered as he walked past Kagura. “And make sure my squad hears that our training today is canceled.”

The agent was tight-lipped as they wound their way through the village. When they arrived at the Hokage’s residence and passed through an ANBU perimeter, Akito’s curiosity was truly piqued.

“Awai Fanho has gone missing,” the agent finally said, his first words since greeting the Hyuuga. “Your presence has been requested to investigate.”

Akito’s blood ran cold at the revelation.

An assassination? A kidnapping? Perhaps the work of Iwa, or Kiri, or the Crescent?

When Akito entered the office, the investigation was well-underway. He was clearly the odd one out. For one, he was the only one not wearing a mask, but also, his were the clothes of an academic. His white tunic, forest green hakama, and black haori felt out of place in a room full of tactical gear. His forehead protector, at least, marked him out as a shinobi, not that his eyes left much room for doubt on that front no matter what he wore.

On further observation, Akito wasn’t the only person with no mask. There was one other. Not someone he knew, but certainly someone he recognized: Sarutobi Taiga. The ANBU agent who had escorted him there bowed and left without a word, stranding Akito in the middle of an investigation which he had little context into. Without an easy way to tell who was in charge, who had summoned him, or why, Akito decided to approach the one person here whom he could address by anything other than a code name.

“Sarutobi-san,” he said with a bow. “Akito Hyuuga. What seems to be the situation?”

[Izanagi]

Tengu received the brief report from the operatives who had been on duty at the time; Hebi and Okami. Neither had seen anything, it had happened in an instant and their stories, brief as they were had been consistent and neither of their chakra networks fluctuated in a way to indicate they were lying. Still, Tengu was accustomed to betrayal and naturally suspected those closest to him first before looking outwards. He would look into their recent missions and psych profiles, see if anything stood out that might indicate either of them had been compromised and was working with a foreign entity.

Taiga spoke up and the young captain listened intently. He respected the Bannin greatly and felt a deep kinship with the man, of anyone in the room he was who Takeshi trusted the most. Yet, he found himself surprised at the lightheartedness of the man’s demeanor. This wasn’t like him at all, a coping mechanism perhaps? He was acting in a similar fashion to Fanho, making light of the situation while indulging in theatrical antics. Disappointing. Still, there seemed to be some sincerity to the man’s absurd theory and so he would at least consider the possibility. Commander Sasaeru, and former Commander Gokurakucho, were the experts on cloning and Space/time respectively, and so he would defer to their judgement. The thought did cross his mind that perhaps the commander might have gone as far as to attempt to clone the Hokage, however the thought he would do so for the purpose of eliminating the man seemed unfeasible. One could accuse Tenzin of being ineffective, and less skilled in battle compared to previous commanders, but there was nothing to suggest he was not loyal to the village, nor had any reason to oppose Fanho.

The young captain waited for the other operatives to clear out, making a mental note of exactly how much of the conversation they had already overheard. Mere moments later, as he was about to speak, another man entered, thus creating another possible breach of information. Yet, the man’s presence wasn’t unwelcome. In fact, it was Takeshi who had listed his cousin Akito as an ANBU consultant for his analytical mind and exceptional talents in detective work. Channelling a small amount of chakra into his mask he ensured the one-way chakra barrier was in place, preventing prying eyes of Akito’s byakguan to see through it. Simultaneously he activated a voice changer, returning it to the setting he had used previously when meeting Akito in uniform. Perhaps the man suspected Takeshi’s clandestine work, but he would ensure he held to protocol regardless.

Looking toward Akito only briefly, he acknowledged the man’s presence, granting a small nod before turning his attention back to Taiga. “We have operatives stationed in Rock Country, and I can divert some assets to Water country. I can have reports coming in by this evening, though for the right price there are remnants of Chishiki still operating. Their information network, though fractured after the disappearance of Hiraku Kenji, and Hiraku Suzume, is still superior to our own” Tengu considered. He had mixed feelings about his father’s dealings with the shadowy organization specialized in intelligence gathering. Specifically, he disapproved of using his brother Yozei’s former relationship with Suzume in order to get their foot in the door. While both Yozei and Suzume were now presumed dead, ANBU had identified other contacts within the org. Tengu nodded slightly as his commander expressed gratitude for his presence, remaining silent when asked about any other theories. He would handle any internal investigations himself, and not air such concerns without proof, especially not in front of Akito. It was imperative that ANBU was viewed as infallible, comprised of only the most talented and loyal shinobi of Konoha. After all, with their extensive screening processes and regular Yamanaka check ups, if they could be compromised then all of Konoha’s security measures would be proved useless.

[Hayate]

It appeared Akito had arrived. As the room gradually cleared out to just four remaining men, Taiga, Tenzin, Takeo, and Akito.

Though Taiga had never personally met the man he was highly spoken of by Takeshi and several others as a strong analytical mind and a top-rate detective. Taiga had heard him referred to as "the Professor" on more than one occasion, though he had assumed it was an ironic joke. He would hopefully be able to confirm this assumption today. Taiga sat still. He was never one for sanctimonious action. In fact, it was Fanho's holier-than-thou demeanor that had driven the man up many a wall literally and metaphorically.

"Thank you Takeshi. If anyone knows about this within the next few hours, or there is any rumors or discussions anywhere that predate the past few hours, then we'll know foreign actors are involved."

He paused for a moment, deciding to eschew any more smart ass responses until the barriers were enacted.

"We're missing another Hokage- this one wasn't gobbled up by the Tsuchikage and instead it seems like he was kidnapped with space-time." Taiga said with an exhausted expression. "The uh- complicated thing is we are now in the middle of an occupied Suna and an Iwa and Kiri pushing war and we are without a leader..." he paused.


He was the odd duck out in the room. He was hear for a planned meeting as the second in command and a legendary shinobi- not as an operative called in to uncover the truths of Fanho's sudden disappearance... and though he was recently made a high ranking ANBU operative as a representative for Fanho, he was not much for team spirit. He didn't quite have the indoctrinated root-taste most of the others in the room had. But it was exactly his lateral thinking that made him such a powerful asset. That and the whole genma-phase-through-stuff-erase-chakra-legendary-genjutsu shit he could do.

"We can't let Iwagakure or Kirigakure find out... they'd surely move on us." he said as he sighed, a puff of smoke escaping his lips.

The feint at the walls of Iwagakure had been partially his doing after-all. Though it did very little to curve Sunagakure's horrid performance in their war it warmed his heart strings that Konohagakure held enough power still in this world to summon all the main heroes of Iwagakure back to their gates... but this also had served to make them very mad at Konohagakure. In Taiga's eyes, the move spared them both any deaths and they still won in the end, so it was a good thing... but war mongers be war mongering.

"Truthfully I am not one for politcs. I usually just rely on Kotoamatsukami... but I'm sure, now that the room is empty, all of you also share a concern that the threat could be from within?" he paused.

There was a very short list of Shinobi who could bag Fanho, and Taiga was probably towards at the top of that list. The only saving grace was he did not use Space/Time.

[Texas]

The silver haired failure gazed upon Akito as he walked in and greeted Taiga. Then his gaze whiffed over to Takeshi as he also acknowledged the scholar. Was this the same man he had visited when he scouted the university? The shinobi could help but try to think for a minute... Yes, the Hyuuga who was experimenting the limits of Ink style. However, the Commander of the Anbu was not pleased. He wanted to keep the amount of people who had knowledge of this situation limited. Inviting another person was yet another loose end. Should he give Akito a visit after their meeting and tie it up? Those deep and creeping thoughts started to hover over the top of his brain until he got slightly snapped out of it by Takeshi and Taiga's comments.

What could have possibly happened? The Bannin reached down to the Kage's table where a clipboard was left of all of the evidence that was collected. His right arm picked it up and brought it up to his mask so he could look at one more point. Was Taiga's gut right? With only Fanho's chakra being around made things rather complicated. No Foreign chakra, no familiar chakra, no allied chakra, just slight cases of Tenkujutsu combined with space/time. Was suspended in a Realm? With no traces of a struggle.. this was pointing in only a minor amount of options.

The shinobi would take a couple steps to Akito and hand him the clipboard. With this full Anbu Outfit, Tenzin's only feature showing was his hair. With a fox like mask, the man would hold the clipboard for Akito to take. "Welcome Akito, I will take my colleagues referrals. My name is Commander Sasaeru." Tenzin would continue as he walked back to the Hokage's Desk. "Please take a look of the data taken and the room and give us your theory." While Akito would do his thing, Tenzin would address the other two in the room.

He would first look at Takeshi. "Hmm anything is possible at this point. Lets gather as many details as possible. We have to assume at this point it could be anyone. Although...." Tenzin would turn his gaze to the Kage desk and the practically no struggled crime scene. "I am leaning towards something not foreign." With that last comment, he would shift his attention to Taiga. Maybe it was someone on the inside. "I think inside would be slightly more viable.. however, we don't have any records of a Konoha Shinobi that doesn't leave a chakra trace. There may be a shinobi who could shrink items, but his chakra signature would be within the area."

Tenzin would move over to the end of the wall near a bookshelf. He would squat down and sit down with his back against the wall and his knees slightly bent so that his arms could rest on his knees. The Commander, The Shinobi, The Bannin, The Man who Lays in the Shadows, was tired. Slowly in the back of his mind, like the moon covering the sun, was a solar eclipse of a single thought. A single, idea that might be able to solve their issues at the cost of Tenzin himself. Before he vocalized his resolve in his position, the man just wanted to hear the evidence being reviewed by one more person and then see where his fellow comrades had to say. If the conversation continued where he thought it was going, then Tenzin only had one option.

He would continue his look towards Taiga. "You are not wrong. We cannot let this get out, especially the way it is being presented to us."

[Drak]

Bowing shallowly to each ANBU agent in turn, Akito made his way through the room. He channeled chakra into his eyes, activating his Byakugan. He had never actually had his Byakugan active while interacting with a ANBU operative before, and was curious as to what would happen. He couldn’t say he was surprised when their masks turned into beacons of bright chakra which continued to hide the faces of those behind them.

What did Taiga just call that agent “Takeshi”? No, that can’t be right.

One of the masked men approached him and introduced himself as Commander Sasaeru.

“Greetings, Commander Sasaeru,” Akito said with a bow. As he came up, he reached out and took the document. As he read it over, he examined the chakra traces in the room. All around his omnidirectional vision Akito could see the faint traces of jutsu use: space-time that flickered and warped like the hot air above a fire, the tell tale maroon haze of Tenkujutsu. The document was brief and told him little that he had not already picked up from the chatter of the room.

“Pardon,” he said softly before taking a seat on the floor and producing a small scroll and a pen from an inside pocket of his haori. He unrolled the scroll in front of him and quickly sketched out a cat.

“I concur with the commander,” Akito spoke up from the floor, his eyes still on the drawing taking shape in front of him. “It is dubious that a foreign agent would be able to enter the village so flawlessly with enough force to take out the Hokage. We can assume that any of the Great Powers could force an opportunity, so we should focus on means and motive. Going through our options: Heart and Kumo have no motive. Iwa – after our little stunt during their invasion of Suna – has plentiful motive, but at the same time with so much of their forces tied up in pacifying their new conquests, it is doubtful that they have the means right now. The Crescent have just as much motive after their leader died during… negotiations. Again though, their forces are diminished, so they lack means. Kiri has motive and means. However, I would posit that secretly kidnapping the Hokage without a trace is not the kind of maneuver that Kiri is likely to try. I imagine that if the Hidden Mist were behind this we would see more blood.”

Akito finished his sketch and with a flurry of hand seals a small black cat jumped off the page and started sniffing around the room. Standing back up, Akito patted dust off of his hakama and looked around again.

“Still, that one’s-,” Akito gestured towards Takeshi. “- idea to deploy intelligence assets to Water Country is a good one. It would not be the first time that Iwa or Kiri held a surprise up their sleeve. With a new Mizukage taking power, it is also conceivable that the Hidden Mist might be trying to shore up their position in the world, or that the Mizukage himself would want to show strength domestically by projecting power abroad. Of the villages who might do something like this, I would say Kiri is the most likely. A domestic source – or even an accident – is more likely, although it is possible that a purposeful domestic source had a foreign catalyst: blackmail, treachery, the usual suspects.”

Tenzin’s further comments piqued Akito’s interest.

“I know of one kunoichi who has mentioned the idea of shrinking items, weapons in particular, in passing, but I do not think that anything ever came of it,” Akito cleared his throat. “I can also vouch for her alibi last night.”

Another glance around the room. The ink cat leapt quietly onto the Hokage’s desk and sniffed at the air, trying to tease out some hint of chakra.”

“Was Fanho a Tenkujutsu user, by any chance?” Akito asked, his tone suggesting his question was not directed at anyone specifically.

[Izanagi]

Takeshi stifled a physical reaction when his fellow Anbu captain accidentally revealed his identity to their newly arrived special consultant. It would be incredibly naïve to hope Akito, as wilyas he was, hadn’t caught the slip-up, but he was sure the man would retain enough professional decorum to not press the matter. It would be a conversation for another time, or perhaps they would each simply pretend. It wasn’t ideal, but if there was anyone he felt he could trust with this secret it was his cousin. Outside of his fellow operatives, Akito was the person Takeshi had come to rely on the most in the year since his father and brother’s deaths.

His fists clenched however at the reminder of his father being eaten by another human; a disgusting, depraved act that spoke to the barbaric ways of Iwagakure. Only his head had been returned and cremated, his ashes spread from his visage overlooking Konoha. Takeo had died protecting Sunagakure, in honor of his close friendship with the departed Kazekage, Henrin Kiyori. Now both Kage’s were dead and Sunagakure had fallen. The peaceful ways of the sand shinobi had left them weak, their defenses easily overpowered and their strongest shinobi fracturing under the pressure, untested compared to Iwagakure’s plenitude of well-trained soldiers. Takeshi did not mourn the loss of Sunagakure, but the fires of revenge burned stronger than ever. Part of him hoped they could link the disappearance of Fanho to Iwa or Kiri, he despised every last one of them and would see them all killed if it were possible.

Dark thoughts continued to swirl in his mind. Anger was a familiar comfort, it fueled him, heightened his senses and invigorated his body with tremendous power. “They’ll move on us anyway, especially Iwagakure. It’s only a matter of time” he retorted with notable bite to his tone. “But we do need to project strength. We must learn from Sunagakure’s errors. If we remain passive and allow them to strike on their terms we will be overwhelmed. We need to pick off some of their Bannin before they muster their forces against us. Assassinations, targeted strikes against key outposts. Whatever it takes. Kumogakure should be encouraged to expand across the frozen wastes and mobilize forces closer to Water country territories, keep their attention divided” he recommended. It was not enough to prevent intel from leaking, they had to take action.

He would fall silent as he allowed Akito to assess the scene. Nodding, he agreed with the man’s reasoning. “It does seem likely there was domestic assistance backed by Kirigakure, but we also shouldn’t discount the possibility of it being an accident if our internal investigations don’t produce any leads. Space-time chakra can be quite unstable. Captain Tengu by the way. We’ve met before, at the training ground incident” he introduced to Akito. The ink cat scented at the traces of Tenkujutsu chakra and Akito made his query. “He is” the young captain replied pointedly. There was no reason to assume the Hokage was dead, not yet at least. “Fanho-sama may return of his own volition, I wouldn’t put it past him, but until then we do need an acting Hokage” he turned to face Taiga. There were few who could fill such a role, and none that he had more faith in than the man standing across from him.

[Hayate]

"Fanho was not a Tenku user to my knowledge..." Taiga paused.

Taiga peered away, off into the distant non-existent camera and took a deep breath followed by an even deeper sigh. He'd been quite, especially since the inference of needing a new Kage put eyes on him.

He'd only just accepted his fate as the shadow Hokage. As the man who stood in darkness and did whatever it took to ensure the security of their village... He closed his eyes as he ran his hands through his long grey hair, pulling it back neatly behind his ears and out of his face. "If I were a foreign state- I'd very much so love a situation where half the Konoha bannin were suspicious of each other... we may investigate it but make sure there is no division to come of it..." he said as he reached into his yukata, then procured a cigarette.

His fingers rubbed together with a friction and force so powerful they blurred for a moment, sparks coming of of them and lighting the cigarette up as he put it to his mouth and took a long drag. "Nasty little habit..." he said as he opened his eyes and turned his head back to the others.

"If I am being honest- Tengu's note of a potential accident seems more likely to me. If it looks like a zebra, walks like a zebra, and has stripes like a zebra..." he paused. "I think we have enough of a plan for investigations ahead of us though..." Taiga paused.

His head was beginning to hurt. Everyone had valid points... and even Takeshi, in his seething rage, was not wrong.

"I suggest we all take some time to think further on the threads we've started off here today... Commander- it seemed you had something more to say though once the room was clear. It's clear now." Taiga paused.

[Texas]

Tenzin, sitting against the wall would listen to Taiga. It was clear that everyone in the room agreed on several things, but the main thing was a new Hokage. The shinobi would lift his body up slowly and then fold his arms, attempting to hide the rage that was within him as well. What Tenzin thought was rage was actually frustration, it seemed people were tip toeing around the issue at hand without fully committing to: What was happening, what needed to get done, and what results of these actions. The shinobi would gaze through his mask at each and every one of them before he started talking.

"As of now we are going to be in a circle of trust. Everything discussed here will end here when we leave. So if anything that we talk about now gets out, I will personally rip the information from all of you." Tenzin would slightly adjust his physical demeanor to be ever so tilted to the right side. "We know a few things to be true. The first thing, based on everything we have discussed it really does seem like this wasn't an outside job. Regardless of if this was an accident or in house, we cannot disclose that Fanho has just up and disappeared or 'stepped down'. This would make us open to the perception of weakness."

Tenzin would then shift his attention to Taiga with a slight twist of his body. "We might have to weigh our options of creating a story for people to rally behind." The man would then turn his attention to Akito. A person Tenzin didn't fully trust, but trusted the judgement of both Takeshi and Taiga for inviting him to the room. "Allow me to stage a fake coup. Not as Commander of the Anbu, but as the man behind the mask." Tenzin would then continue to paint a picture of how they could portray him to the public, "One who openly did not agree with Fanho's war tactics, lack of war involvement, and his future plans of how he would run Konoha. The ideals of a deranged and broken man who has taken his emotions and outrage to it's final stage by assassinating the Hokage." The shinobi would then look at Takeshi. With his head facing directly towards the spawn of a Hokage, the son of a man who he had failed the most. "A man who was not strong enough to help defend the border of Wind Country or defeat Fanho. On who had to brainwash other shinobi to helping him defeat Fanho in his own office in a surprise attack. Only a shinobi who has not achieved anything on paper and has failed would result to such barbaric and honorless tactics." Tenzin made that point clear, most of his achievements were done in secret and claimed it as a Konoha victory. Although Taiga took the shadow kage role true, Tenzin committed to not only the Anbu, but Konoha regardless of his success (like in Dragon's breath) or his failures (like in wind country).

Tenzin would then walk a couple steps to the middle of the room to give his final pitch. "By apprehending the shinobi that were brainwashed for the coup, the leader of the group got away and has been labeled as a defected missing ninja of Konohagakure presumed to be armed and dangerous." Tenzin would wait a couple seconds with his finger up in the air as to wait a second. "If this was to happen, it would put blame on a specific shinobi. The interim Hokage, Taiga would declare him an enemy of the country and to kill on sight."

The silver haired Bannin would put his finger down and continue. "If something like this was to occur, then we would have many outs to avoid appearing weak. The first, regardless of if it was a foreign invader or someone in house, it would give ease to the potential 'assassin' knowing they got away with it. This would give the new commander, Tengu, a good window to gather information and potentially investigate a little bit easier. The second, If this was something done to himself, the legacy of Fanho would continue to be a strong one. Not one who has simply disappeared and left his responsibilities after the war. In a sense, preserve his perception of the power house he truly is and hero to Konoha. Then lastly, this would give us, well me, the opportunity to potentially associate others we wouldn't normally get access to and participate in actions that could help Konoha behind the scenes. At the very worst case, I will be killed as a traitor and preserve the title of Hokage along with strengthen the resolve portrayed by Konoha."

The Anbu commander would look around the room to gauge potential body language. But he would leave them with one last statement. "This is the best that, as a Konoha Commander and Bannin I can offer to our village. It would also allow penance for my failures in the past." Tenzin would stand there waiting to hear from the circle of trust.

[Drak]

“Ah, of course,” Akito responded. “Capitain Tengu, from the training ground incident. That must be why I thought you seemed familiar.” He gave Takeshi a subtle wink: really more of a one-eyed blink for its speed. A nod to Taiga’s slip-up? A confirmation that the information was safe with him? Who could say?

“I agree. With the lack of any intelligence about a threat against the Hokage and jutsu traces that lead back to Fanho himself, I think that an accident is most likely,” Akito went on.

As Tenzin voiced his warning to the assembled shinobi, Akito held up one hand, a single finger bidding him wait. His other hand beckoned the cat back to him. It leapt onto the page as if into a pool of water and scattered into text: a report summarizing the theories spoken and the jutsu the cat had picked up on.

“Please, continue,” Akito said, rolling up the scroll.

As Tenzin presented his plans, Akito listened, plotting out how such a plan might go over. When he finished, Akito spoke.

“This seems a solid plan. Almost literary in how it weaves the supposed story of-” Akito rolled his hand in Tenzin’s direction, as if physically referring to his true identity. “-into its convolutions. I have no objection to Taiga-sama as Hokage, nor to this way of raising him to the title. I am unsure of the efficacy of using brainwashed shinobi as a cover, unless they are to be a total fiction. It will require additional moving parts, and open more holes in the story than I am sure it closes. Moreover: I am concerned about what happens if Fanho reappears at any given stage of this plan. If he reappears now,” Akito snapped his fingers. “Then the plan is moot. We need a story for what happens if he reappears at any stage: during the ‘coup’, immediately after, during Taiga’s inauguration. After that, I think we can safely ‘discover’ that he was banished, not killed.”

After delivering his objections, Akito strode over to where Takeshi was standing and pressed the scroll into Takeshi's hand.

"A report. For ANBU's soon to be commander."

[Izanagi]

Takeshi nodded in agreement with Taiga as their preliminary investigation concluded. They had some strings to pull on, see if anything turned up, but also a plausible theory in case they couldn’t link the disappearance to any malicious involvement. It was a good start, but in the meantime the village would need to continue function normally. Without a current Hokage, this left Tenzin as the man with the most power and influence within Konoha but it was Taiga who was the primary candidate for Hokage. Nonetheless, Takeshi, despite his personal grievances with his commander, remained loyal to ANBU first, their hierarchy, and all that it stood for. He would do whatever needed to be done in order to secure the safety and longevity of Konoha.

Tengu remained silent as Tenzin began to speak. Listening intently to his leader’s plan, the young man noted a few concerns. It was evident Tenzin was burdened by the weight of guilt and wished to atone. ‘Perhaps I judged you too harshly’ he considered. Tenzin had been an easy scapegoat to blame for his father’s death, a constant reminder that fueled his pain and hatred. Yet he could see the weight of guilt in Tenzin’s eyes and knew that few others would have been able to make a difference against the might of the Tsuchikage. The least he could do now was honor Tenzin’s plan, his atonement. And there was merit to his plan, but perhaps with some room for adjustment. At the mention of the role of Anbu commander passing to him, Takeshi bowed deeply, honoured by the promotion. “I humbly accept” he said evenly as he straightened his posture. This would make Takeshi the second youngest Anbu commander in history, only one year older than Commander Kuodachi; codename Fukuro. The pressure of the job had gotten to Takeo’s successor, and the prodigious genjutsu master had only held the title of Commander for a few short months. ’I will not falter. I will make you proud, father’ he vowed, recalling Takeo’s many lessons. He was following his father’s footsteps. There would be justice for those that had been taken from them. This was his duty now.

Taking a moment to adjust to the weight of responsibilities he would now shoulder, the teenager remained silent as Akito voiced his critiques. They were similar to his own. “I support Taiga-Sama as Hokage. There is nobody better suited” he agreed first, getting the unanimous portion out of the way. “We should keep things simple. One man, one betrayal” he gestured to Tenzin. "We could say Fanho was critically injured, rendered in a coma and moved to a secure location to recover. That way we can keep hope alive and maintain Fanho-sama’s reputation. If he was attacked, it might allow us to set bait for a trap to lure in those responsible. As for putting a target on your back…respectfully sir, would it not be better to fake your death, give a sense of closure and justice and allow you to take on a new identity, a new life?” he proposed There were advantages to the esteem Tenzin would gain from their enemies for taking credit for the attack certainly, but he wasn’t sure it was worth the risk of causing further conflict within Konoha’s ranks. Ultimately, he would respect whatever Tenzin decided on, it was his final act as Commander after all.

Takeshi met his cousin’s gaze as the report was handed to him. “Thank you. Expect to be working closely with me in the future.” Anbu would have need of such a man, but more importantly Takeshi realized he would need a friend he could rely on, someone to be his right-hand man. But he couldn’t allow Akito to become his underling if he wanted to keep himself accountable. Whatever the future for Konoha, Takeshi was sure that he would go to any length to protect it, he would need someone he could trust to pull him back if he went too far. The young man’s gaze returned to Taiga, he would become a Hokage to be respected. And lastly, looking upon Tenzin, Takeo’s second son exhaled slowly, finally finding forgiveness. “I wish you safe travels, sir” he said as he extended a hand. There was no telling when he might see Tenzin again or what the circumstances would be once his plans were set in motion.

[Hayate]

By now Taiga had been pacing the room up and down; a stressed look upon his face as the group weighed through their options and worked to craft a narrative to fit their scheme. He had been uncharacteristically silent- a void of his thoughts filled only by long, exhausted and exasperated exhalations, one after the other, following the rhythm of his breaths. He didn't like this plan. He didn't like this idea- and he certainly did not want to start his reign as Hokage on the sacrifice of an exemplary shinobi. Running his hands through his grey-hair the Bannin threw himself haphazardly down on a seat, his back on the seat itself and his legs draped over the back kicking in the air like a bored child.

Finally, amidst puffs of smoke, the soon-to-be-kage-apparrent responded. Despite all he had mulled as he paced the room and the others collaborated, he could not propose a better plan. He was empty handed.

"I do not like this plan... but I have no alternative to offer. Truthfully, I don't think we win here. No matter the plan." he said with a regretful tone, his arms falling down and flailing in the air, as he hung off the chair upside down.

"Personally, I'm probably a better fall guy than any of you given I was Fanho's rival and harshest critic.." he said as he flexed his core and in a powerful single motion grabbed the legs of the chair with his arms and in tandem with his core hoisted himself in the air, flipping back up into a proper sitting position in a single fluid, graceful motion.

"Whatever we do... it would be unacceptable to lose you Tenzin. We need to ensure we have your power, should our enemies come knocking. Not enough of us Bannin left..." Taiga's eyes jumped between the ANBU Captian and the Hyuuga.

"I disagree with some of the details. Fabricating a lie such that he is recuperating is too complicated: it's too easy for those with doubt to seek truth, and too hard for us to convince... he said as he scratched his head.

Part of him wondered if showing their might, in lieu of Fanho, would be the true move here... but there in lied the problem- they did not have might. They lost half their Bannin.

Fuck.

[Texas]

Pain. As the others contributed their notes on the plan to try to save Konoha's image, Tenzin couldn't help but be burdened by what Taiga had mentioned. Although Tenzin saw himself weaker of the higher ranks, at the end of the day he was a Bannin. Although his accolades were behind the scenes, he had proven himself loyal to Konoha. Just simply having a Bannin present within the village borders was enough to make some hesitate, but how much of a difference would it make if the silver haired scientist actually left? This was something Tenzin lightly thought of, but didn't consider the weight of him leaving. However, something had to happen. If it was proven their Kage could be kidnapped in his own office, within his own village, within his own country, in a time of what felt like a cold war between Konoha and Iwa, not only would their enemies smell blood... but the people of the village would fear every day more so than they already have. Although, would they feel the same way if a Bannin of their village attacked the Kage as well?

At the end of the day, this situation felt more or less like a lose-lose situation and Tenzin was just trying to make the best of the worst. Is it better to fear the the unknown or have someone to fear and hate? The shinobi shifted his position to gaze upon Taiga, although Tenzin wasn't the biggest fan, he couldn't help but recognize the powerhouse behind the smoking breath. "The problem is, there is no win here. We have a kage that has either disappeared or been kidnapped from his own office. YOU," Tenzin would have to emphasize, "will have to decide what the best course is. I am presenting an option that allows the people of Konoha and Fire Country to have fear and hatred for a single person than be scared of the unknown."

The turquoise eyed Bannin would shift through the other members before going back to speaking to Taiga. "As far as me leaving, if I am the scapegoat for this situation, you guys wouldn't ever lose me as an asset. I, at the end of the day, am a Konoha shinobi. I would just be repositioned on the playing field. Being perceived as a villain would potentially get me access to places and people Konoha wouldn't necessarily be able to." Tenzin would shift again to Akito to address his critiques which Tenzin has appreciated greatly. "I agree with you Akito. I am working on ways to make real life clones. I could make a couple of fake shinobi along with a fake Fanho. I could create a crime scene with all of them dead and the story could be:" Tenzin would lift up his right hand as if to emphasize a title, "Tenzin Hatake and a few loyal followers attempted a coop to take over the kage seat by force. It resulted in his two followers dead and Hokage Fanho as well. Tenzin was last reported in Fire Country after he fled from the crime scene." The shinobi didn't like it too much, but hoped that it could be critiqued more with the minds around them.

Tenzin would lock eyes with the Hyuuga prodigy Takeshi before he finished up. "I agree with Taiga in the sense of fabricating a lie. We would need no loose ends and if everyone but me died in an altercation, the only people who would know about his are the very people in this room." Tenzin would then shift his body language to the general room. "It could be as simple as, IF Fanho is found or comes back, Tenzin played his hands as a villain and actually killed a place filler for Fanho. At worst I would simply look like a fool and Fanho would be back. I don't have much more to offer other than my life and reputation for where we are. I am open for more critiques, but as far as I see it, this might be the best course of action to avoid a Great Shinobi War to be ignited for reasons we couldn't confirm."

[Drak]

Akito bowed again to Takeshi and took a place next to him, turning again to regard Taiga and Tenzin. His eyebrows tensed into a confused and almost disapproving expression as Taiga sat upside down and then flipped around in his chair.

“Real clones? A fake Fanho?” he repeated quietly to himself. When Tenzin finished speaking, Akito shared his thoughts with his co-conspirators. “No, there is no winning plan here, only trade-offs. Our task is to find the most benefit for the least pain among those options and have plans to ameliorate any issues that do arise. An ancient sage once wrote that the simpler of two theories is the most likely to be correct. Such thinking will serve us well here: any complication we introduce to explain away whatever happened here today must close more loopholes than it opens. Even with a fake body, claiming that Fanho survived but was rendered torporous by his injuries puts us in a tenuous position and risks implicating Taiga-sama should anyone inquire about it. A fake body serves us better if we claim he is dead. If he never returns, we need never explain it. If he does, then it can be woven into some master plan.”

Calmly, Akito put the side of his pointer finger to his forehead and closed his eyes. He remained there like that for the length of a single breath as a great tree of probabilities and contingencies exploded forth behind his eyelids. As he reached the nadir of his exhale, his eyes burst open.

“Losing a Bannin on paper looks bad. It will make us look weaker and may induce Iwa and Kiri to invade, which I believe to be a matter of ‘when’ not ‘if’. Still, it may work to our advantage: Tenzin will not truely be lost to us. A covert system of drops will let us feed intelligence to each other. The occasional ‘lost’ supplies from ANBU or University missions may yet serve as ways to resupply Tenzin. I trust we are capable of that much.” Akito glanced to his side and gave Takeshi a subtle grin, assuming that much of such work would fall to the new commander.

“While I do not think we should count on it, we would be premature, I think, to completely discount Fanho’s eventual return,” he continued, turning his head back to the room at large as he let his gaze rest cyclically on each person in the room – a trick he picked up from hours spent lecturing. “Fanho’s return paired with an attack from outside might even let Tenzin return a hero as a willing participant in a plan cleverly designed to make Konoha appear weaker than we are. If that is not possible, then Tenzin may be consigned to the life of a missing-nin. That said, in the event that we require his help in a major way, I am sure we can contrive some reason or disguise. Altogether, I think that this plan adequately explains Fanho’s sudden disappearance while minimizing the appearance of weakness or fracture. With or without a fake body, it leaves us four as the only loose ends.” Akito’s eyes darted to the scroll he had passed to Takeshi. “It makes us appear to have lost a Bannin while not inflicting that reality on us, and brings with it a whole host of benefits of having an ostensibly rogue ninja on our side. I do not think we will do better than that.”

Akito’s white eyes locked with Tenzin’s.

“Godspeed.”